What political candidates should know about Twitter

Election season is heating up, and with it will likely come a whole slew of Twitter faux pas from candidates. With that in mind, we thought we'd help out our present and future leaders with a few lessons learned from their colleagues.

Don't sext. Period. Former US Representative Anthony Weiner shared a little too much on Twitter and ended up being forced to resign. Naked pictures of yourself are not going to win you constituents. In fact, just avoid direct messages altogether. It's not as private as you think.

Make sure you get the address right. Former California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman meant to retweet an endorsement but instead shared this odd and unhelpful
link. And NY Governor Andrew Cuomo's website linked to the wrong Twitter account, sending interested voters to a prankster's feed.

Don't engage in online feuds. Would-be presidential candidate Donald Trump is almost as famous for his nasty Twitter feuds as he is for his relentlessly unfortunate hair, taking on everyone from Rosie O'Donnell (really?) as well as a whole list of lesser opponents. Decidedly un-presidential.

Try to use real words. Gleeful retweeters had a field day with Sarah Palin's use of the word "refudiate" in a Twitter post. There's a certain amount of leeway with misspeaking, but less so when you had the time to type it out.

Keep a dignified tone. It might be a casual medium, but it still deserves proper spelling. US Senator and frequent tweeter Chuck Grassley quoted President Coolidge as saying: "I want people to work less 4Govt.Iwant them 2hv rewards of their industry" — thus reducing Coolidge to sounding like a 16-year-old skateboarder.